Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council

Summary

The Supreme Court held that the Army Corps of Engineers, not the EPA, has authority to permit the discharge of mining slurry as fill material under §404 of the Clean Water Act. The Court further held that the Corps acted in accordance with law because EPA new source performance standards do not apply to discharges regulated under §404, deferring to the agencies' reasonable interpretation. Justice Ginsburg, dissenting, would have affirmed the Ninth Circuit, arguing that the Clean Water Act mandates adherence to EPA pollution-control requirements for new sources.